Dimensional Portals are Annoying
by westwindwaker
Summary: Loki is at it again. He's harassing the Avengers by opening portals form other dimensions to theirs. Forced to respond to every lead, Shield goes to investigate every portal. At the same time, Will and Halt are investigating the missing people of Redmont Fief and soon fall through a portal themselves...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I definitely don't own either the Ranger's Apprentice series or the Avengers.

**Dimensional Portals are Annoying**

Chapter 1: A Long Way to Travel

_Clop, clop, clop pity, clop, clop_. The sound of horses' hooves echoed against the dirt. If one looked, they could see two indistinct shapes mounted on the road. On closer inspection, the two shapes were really men wearing camouflage cloaks. They were also both wearing double knife scabbards and each had a strung longbow on their laps and a full quiver on their right shoulders. Should one come close enough to see them, they'd realize that the cloaks' hoods were up, obscuring their features. They were also very short. Their horses were short but stout things and very shaggy.

Once they reached a fork in the path they stopped. The older man looked at his slightly shorter companion and asked, "Will, take a look and tell me what you see."

The other one, Will, dismounted shaking his head. Even though it was years after his graduating to be a full-fledged Ranger, Halt still treated him a bit like an apprentice.

He carefully bent down to one knee to study the tracks left behind by their quarry. They were tracking a missing person, multiple in fact. People had been disappearing in Redmont Fief for a few days so far. They all were going hiking when the disappearances happened. So far there were no other connections between them. The only reason Halt was with Will was for company. After all, it should be an easy mission.

The tracks indicated that a lot of people had recently been traveling the right fork. One detail in particular caught Will's attention. There was a small thread snagged on a bush. It was yellow. This told them they were going in the right direction. After all, one of their missing persons was the only one who wore yellow regularly.

Will stood and told Halt his inferences, "They went down the right, judging by the tracks there and by the thread snagged on that bush. One of our quarries is notorious for wearing yellow a lot."

Halt also dismounted and looked around. He soon straightened back up and nodded, "You're right. They all lead to that forest down there." He said grimly.

They both mounted back up and rode to the right. Once they neared the forest, they noticed something strange; there were no tracks in the forest after a few meters in. Halt and Will reined up and scouted the edges of the forest. There was no sign to indicate someone had backtracked and gone around the side.

Halt then dismounted and took a piece of parchment and some ink and quill and wrote quickly. **Don't enter this forest. This is where people are disappearing. Will and I are going to investigate.** He finished by signing. _**Ranger Halt.**_

Halt then laid down the paper on a rock and picked up another to weight it down. That done, he spoke to Will, "Careful Will, something is going on that we don't know about. We need to be cautious."

Once Halt mounted, the two rangers carefully made their way into the forest. Once inside a few meters, they reached where the tracks ended. They soon rode over them after examining them. That soon turned out to be a big mistake. Their feet and their horses' hooves, never reached the other side.

Instead, they rode into a new place and promptly swayed in the saddle, falling out and fainting. The two shaggy horses also fell, albeit more gracefully and with more control. They laid down and stayed by their masters' sides.

_**Shield HQ 15:22**_

_Ping, ping, ping_, the machine signaled for the fourth time that week. Another anomaly had just occurred, an anomaly that allowed people to cross between dimensions. For the past week, these had been becoming more common. Throughout Shield HQ it was hypothesized that this was all Loki's fault. It seemed he was opening portals from other dimensions to this one. They all happened in different places. Luckily, this one was nearby. They could actually get to this one in a reasonable time.

Nick Fury, director of Shield, sighed. They had to at least make an effort to visit the anomaly sites. For all they knew, it could be Loki leading an army of the Chitauri again. After issuing some orders, Fury and a few shield agents got in a helicopter and went to greet the new arrivals. And access if they were a threat or not or if could help them.

Once arriving, the Shield agents looked around. They quickly took in the sight of two strange men in strange clothing sprawled on the ground unconscious with horses standing guard next to them. The agents also noticed the two strung longbows on either side of the new arrivals. However, when they approached to take them, the two small horses whinnied and looked at them, giving them the impression that they were saying, _Don't you dare_. Whatever happened, the men soon backed off.

**A/N I would appreciate it if someone would beta for at least the Avengers' part for me. I've only seen the movie once. Thankfully, I've recently read the Ranger's Apprentice series so Will and Halt should be more or less characterized correctly. Please tell me if this is a good idea for a crossover and if you have any suggestions for the crossover, than please suggest. Thank you for reading. Also, don't hesitate to point out flaws in grammar or cannon please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ranger's Apprentice series or the Avengers.

Dimensional Portals are Annoying

Chapter 2: New Arrivals

A few minutes later…

"Shut up. You're making way too much noise for a sneak attack." The seemingly unconscious man grumbled, startling the agent who had snuck up behind him into jumping.

Another voice popped up, this one younger, "He's right. We've heard you since you came here." The agent behind him didn't jump, but he still exclaimed in surprise.

"Really Will?" The other replied, turning over and raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Yes Halt?" The younger replied, mirroring his companion's expression.

Halt frowned and answered, "Haven't I ever told you not to answer a question with another question? You're just going to keep confusing everyone with your grammar."

"You just did the same thing." Will replied stubbornly.

However, before they could get any farther with their quarrel, an _ahem, cough, cough_ interrupted them.

Turning around, they noticed a man with an eye patch staring pointedly at them. He was raising his eyebrows.

"If you're quite done, maybe we could talk about what happened. Let's introduce ourselves. I'm Director Nick Fury of Shield that is Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. And you are?"

Halt made his way into a sitting position and answered, "Ranger Halt from the country Araluen and this is my former apprentice Ranger Will Treaty. Before we go any farther, I ask two things. May my companion and I take care of our horses first, and do you have any coffee?"

Will grinned at the mention of coffee and seconded Halt by nodding eagerly.

Fury looked at them and said, "Sounds reasonable enough. Bob, can you make these two some coffee please?"

"Make sure to put some honey in it," Will added

After that the two got up and took the tack and saddle packs off their horses. They then fed them and groomed them, all the while muttering soothing words to 'Tug' and 'Abelard'.

_I want an apple._

"Sorry, Tug, I don't have one," Will said to his shaggy horse.

Furry and the other shield agents watched the exchange between horse and man, curious as to how the Rangers were able to communicate with the horses.

Once done, they carefully made a fire and invited Fury to sit down with them. After he had sat down, Bob returned with their coffees, one for Will, one for Halt, and one for Fury.

Tentatively, they sipped the coffee. On Halt's and Will's faces was a mixture of surprise and pleasure.

"It's just as good as the Arridi's, Halt, isn't it?" Will blurted out.

Halt nodded and was about to elaborate when Fury butted in, "I suppose that's supposed to be a compliment?" He asked wryly.

"Oh yes. The Arridi were the first to make coffee or _kafay_ as they call it. We had the pleasure to try some of theirs." Halt answered.

By now, Will was getting a bit impatient with all the discussion of coffee.

"Where are we? Why are you here? How did we come to be here?" Will fired off.

Halt looked at Will and raised his eyebrow, about to scold his old apprentice for asking too many questions at once.

"You are in the state of New York and in the country of America. We're here to investigate the anomaly that brought you here. Unfortunately, it already disappeared. It was a dimensional portal. That's how you came here," Nick Fury replied before Halt could say anything.

"Is there any way we could go back?" Will queried, a slight tone of worry in his voice.

Fury fixed them in his gaze.

"Yes, if we can figure out how to reverse it so that we get the portal where you fell in. In the meantime, you should stay with us or one of our allies."

They nodded. Will inquired hesitantly, "Sir, why was there a dimensional portal in the first place? Surely that's not usual." Fury's face darkened.

"Loki. It's probably Loki's fault." At their inquiring looks he added, "Loki is a demigod. He's an Asgardian and Frost Giant. He's a trickster and he has attacked the Earth before. He's probably planning to do so again soon and so began making all these portals to wear us out and to lower our guard."

Will was about to ask more questions, but Halt cut in, "Perhaps we can help if he does attack? After all, you are going to try to help us get home. In the meantime, our lots are thrown in with yours."

Fury nodded in agreement. "That depends on whether you can fight or not or on whatever skills you have." He looked to the longbows and nodded, "You can use those, right?"

"Definitely, sir. We also have some other weapons, if you'd like to see?" Will answered.

Fury raised his eyebrows and said, "Not now. Maybe in a few hours or so. What else can you Rangers do?"

Halt shrugged. "Not much," he admitted. "We specialize in unseen movement, tactics, and information gathering besides our weapon skills."

"Sounds like you're selling yourself short," Furry said dryly. "Anyways, let's go,"

Halt pointed, "In there? What is that thing?"

"One question at a time Halt!" Will said, grinning.

"It is a helicopter, sir. It flies and carries people and stuff in it," One of the agents answered Halt.

"Gorlog's nostrils," Halt muttered under his breath. "There is no way I'm flying in that thing."

A/N So that there's no confusion, this is set after book 10 and before 11. I would like to thank Dash99 for their help by being my beta for this story. If anyone has any suggestions, please don't hesitate to tell me.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own either Ranger's Apprentice or the Avengers.

Dimensional Portals are Annoying

Ch. 3 How Things Stand

"Would you like to say something, Halt?" Fury said slowly, looking at Halt.

Halt was still staring at the helicopter. "Nope," he said, "Just admiring the view." Halt quickly turned around and walked to Abelard.

"Follow," He softly whispered in Abelard's ear. Abelard immediately stopped grazing and went to follow his friend, his reins left dangling. Behind them, Will did much the same thing with Tug.

The Shield agents looked askance at the new comers as their horses followed them up into the helicopter.

"They're not even holding the reins!" One of them muttered excitedly.

As they entered, they were assured that their horses would not need to be strapped down. The helicopter had a great balance and they would barely feel it moving under their feet. Still, Halt had his doubts. Those doubts in turn caused him misery for the rest of the trip.

Before even a minute had passed from takeoff, Halt was down in one of the seats, shaking silently, and holding onto the armrests for dear life. His face was withdrawn and pale, his forehead sweating.

Abelard, noticing his condition, and recognizing it from experience, moved to calm down his friend.

_Do you need a helmet?_

Halt glared daggers at his shaggy horse.

"No thank you," Halt said through gritted teeth.

One of the agents also took notice of his condition. He grabbed a paper bag and handed it to Halt. Believe it or not, even Shield agents on occasion vomited while on their helicopters. Halt just looked at it, not for sure what to use the sack for. The shield agent made vomiting gestures into the sack. Halt seized the sack and opened it.

_That serves the same purpose as a nice Skandian helmet._

"Just shut up," Halt muttered to his sarcastic horse. The shield agent who had handed Halt the sack withdrew from the sick Ranger.

"I didn't say anything, sir."

"Wasn't talking to you," Halt said.

Fury and Will watched the scene fold out from one of the sides of the helicopter. Will's face showed his clear amusement while Fury's face was unreadable.

"Does this always happen?" Fury asked.

"Whenever we get on a boat in fact. Unless he is distracted, his seasickness will continue for two days," Will answered, grinning,

Halt, sensing their conversation with his sixth sense, glared at them quickly. Unfortunately for him, this was when his stomach decided to act up. Up went his breakfast and lunch, along with the recently devoured coffee.

Abelard snorted in amusement.

The retching continued on for several minutes, causing the crew to wince in sympathy. Eventually it stopped, and Halt leaned back exhausted.

"Director Fury, ETA for Stark Tower is two minutes," One of the pilots called out.

"Get ready to land. Halt, Will, we're almost there," Fury said with a nod of his head.

Once they landed, Halt gratefully stumbled out. He took deep breaths and soon straightened up when he noticed the people in front of him. Will and Fury came out after him.

The three stood there looking at the motley crew before them. There were five of them. They began introducing themselves one by one.

A tall man stepped forward. He was muscular and had a hammer in his hand, and a cape was billowing behind him in the wind.

"I am Thor Odinson of Asgard, otherwise known as the Thunderer mortals. I am most pleased to meet your acquaintance," he boomed.

After speaking, the blonde leapt forward and seized Will into a hug of welcoming, a bear hug. Within a few seconds, Will had already turned purple in the face. He was gasping for air as soon as he was let go.

Halt, seeing what was happened, tried to step away, a successful tactic with the Skandians. However, Halt was too slow to dodge the ferocious hug. Thankfully, after a few seconds he was released. Out of breath as he was, he stumbled once he got his feet back on the ground.

Next up was another tall man. This one had brown hair and brown eyes slightly tinged with green. He also had glasses.

"Hello, I'm Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk." They quickly shook his hand before he decided to squish them in a hug.

The next to step forward was a blond. He had a military haircut and was buff. He was wearing a jacket. He saluted to them and said warmly, "Steve Rodgers, sirs. I've also been known as Captain America."

The next was one of the more interesting to Halt and Will. He had light brown hair and he carried a mechanical bow and arrows. He greeted them each with a handshake.

"Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye. It's always a pleasure to meet fellow archers. Perhaps we can practice together later?" he said, noticing the two massive longbows that each Ranger carried.

Halt and Will nodded and turned their attention to the last member of the group. He was tall and had short brown hair sticking up at odd angles from his head. His eyes were also brown. The strangest thing about him however was the glowing blue light that was shining through his shirt.

The stranger stepped forward and introduced himself, saying, "I'm Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man. I'd like to officially welcome you to Stark Tower and quite possibly the Avengers, a group of superheroes that help protect the world." Stark then proffered his hand and began to shake theirs.

They all turned to go inside. When they were almost inside, Halt looked up and called, "Hello. Why don't you show yourself so we can finish our introductions?"

Complying, a thin redheaded female dropped from her hiding place. She was dressed in a uniform that would blend into the shadows.

"Hello, I'm Natasha Romanoff, or the Black Widow." She replied, a Russian accent clear in her voice. She then joined the group.

After a few seconds, Halt and Will introduced themselves. Halt said calmly, "I'm Ranger Halt and this is Ranger Will Treaty. We're from a country called Araluen, and as Fury tells us, another dimension."

They all walked into the building and began to head downstairs to the stables to stable Abelard and Tug.

A/N Again, all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I would also like to thank my awesome beta, Dash99.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own either the Avengers or Ranger's Apprentice.

A/N The gigantic paragraph where Will is speaking is a bit of a spoiler. Be warned.

Dimensional Portals are Annoying

**Chapter 4 Talking…Talking…1..2..3..And Dinner**

Once they got inside the corridors, the Avengers quickly noticed their new companions' skill in stealth. When the people behind them (everyone except for Tony who's leading) looked at them directly, they seemed to almost shimmer out of sight. The way most of the Avengers were tracking them were by their horses, who followed sedately behind. Only Natasha and Clint were able to see through the illusion seemingly cast by their mottled cloaks. After all, they have been trained in stealth also.

Steve cursed as they seemingly disappeared from sight for what seemed like the hundredth time. The way the Rangers were naturally moving through the shadows had a befuddling effect.

Clint and Natasha, hearing this, chuckled slightly. Will, sensing the reason for their mirth and  
Steve's cursing, also laughed quietly.

Bruce just sighed and smiled a bit, while Thor and Tony, who hadn't noticed what happened, looked at the three confused.

Meanwhile, Halt stood staring and then glaring at Will, Clint, Natasha, and Steve. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes and he was wearing a grim expression when he said, quite calmly, "Would you like to share with the class, Chocho-san?"

Will grinned and replied, "Not really, Halto-san."

The others watched their exchange with interest. At the part where Halt said 'Chocho-san', a few of them burst out laughing, holding their sides as they tried not to fall over sniggering. When Halt sent them a glare after Will answered him, they only laughed harder, until they _were _on the ground laughing (Tony and Clint were on the ground that is).

Thor was the only one who looked confused; apparently all the others knew enough Japanese to recognize the word 'butterfly'.

"Thor," Tony choked out still laughing, "Chocho means butterfly in Japanese." He then turned to Will, "Please tell us where you managed to pick up that particular nickname."

Will turned thoughtful. "Well… a few months ago we came back from Nihon-Ja. You see… we came there to find our missing friend Horace or Kurokuma, as they called him there, and bring him back to Araluen with us. We had heard from my old ward-mate George, who's a scholar, that Horace had joined in the effort to protect the emperor and help rethrone him. The emperor was betrayed by some of the Senshi. Luckily for us, Princess Cassandra, or Evanlyn, as we like to call her, picked us up in Toscan from our diplomatic mission there with Gundar, the skirl or captain, of a Skandian ship. We arrived in time to help organize the Kikori to fight. In the end, we won, and most of us had nicknames, except for Halt, who was introduced by Horace to Shigeru as Halto. Then we left, and Halt got seasick, _again_," he smirked at this part, "The end."

All of them were staring at Will now, except for Halt, who was glaring saxe knives at him.

Trying to distract Halt, Abelard snorted.

_Did you use a Skandian helmet again?_

Halt turned quickly to his horse and murmured, "Shut up."

The Avengers had to wonder at this odd behavior.

His ire diverted, Halt asked grimly, "Are we going to stand around here for a century?" Once they began moving, he added, "I thought not. So, what's for dinner?"

The group hesitated before Tony replied, "We're not exactly sure… we usually wing it. We'll order takeout unless someone would like to volunteer to make dinner."

When nobody piped up, he continued, "So, what kind of food do you want to eat; Chinese, Japanese, hot dogs, hamburgers, or etc.?"

At Halt's and Will's blank looks, he decided for himself. "Well, Chinese it is. Would you like anything to drink with that?"

This, at least, elicited a response from them. "Coffee," they cried out in unison.

"With honey please." Will added.

"Oooooookkkkk…" Tony responded, "You do know that coffee stunts your growth kid, right? No wonder you two are so short."

Tony taunting the two of them was a mistake. Now he was once again on the end of a receiving glare. This one included speech, "His name is Will." Clearly, Halt was very protective about his young companion.

By this time they were at the stables. Instead of handing off their horses, Will and Halt went in with them to stable them. The Avengers watched curiously from afar.

Both horses looked at their friends.

_We want apples!_

Halt sighed and said to Will, "Go ahead and feed Tug an apple. They deserve it by now."

Once they received their apples, the two horses neighed in delight. Apples were truly a delicacy to them.

While Abelard and Tug were eating, Halt and Will took care of getting them settled. The two horses were seemingly having a conversation once they finished eating.

_Nice place._ Tug nickered.

Abelard snorted. _Not nearly as impressive as a castle though…_

Tug raised an eyebrow. _It depends. This type of building is very unusual in our world._

_ But very common in this one probably._ Abelard neighed.

Halt and Will looked at each other, "Were they just discussing the tower?" Will asked.

Halt was about to reply when the two horses nodded. "That's just creepy." He said instead as he raised an eyebrow.

"Now that you mention it, Blaze and Tug once acted very similar to Gilan and me." Will chirped in.

Off to one side, Tony and Clint were whispering. They nodded, and it seemed they had some crazy plan in mind. Suddenly, they shot off like arrows into the stables, Tony into Tug's stall and Clint into Abelard's.

For some reason, they jumped on the horses. Unfortunately for them, as soon as they got settled, the horses bucked them off, into the two conveniently placed piles of hay at the back of the stalls.

Will laughed, "That never gets old!"

Suddenly, a voice piped up, "_Are you okay sir?"_

Halt and Will were surprised. To just hear a voice coming out of nowhere like that… it was obvious that they were startled. At their expressions, and their turning around to find the owner of the voice, Tony laughed.

"That's just JARVIS," he explained, "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. He's an AI, or artificial intelligence. He runs the house."

Will and Halt shared a look. This new world was very different than their own.

"It's nice to meet you sir…" Will trailed off, looking awkward.

"Yes, very nice to meet you indeed." Halt added, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, just one more person to introduce…" Tony said. "Oh! There she is." Tony added as a red-head walked into the room. "Halt, Will, meet my lovely assistant Pepper Potts."

Pepper was wearing business like clothes and had a down to business attitude. However, she also was a nice person.

She greeted them warmly, "So you two are the ones I've been hearing so much about from JARVIS. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

After she greeted them, she shook their hands.

"I'll lead you to your rooms now, so grab your stuff and we'll get going," she declared.

After picking up their saddle bags, the two rangers followed her to their rooms. They were on the floor that was closest to the stables and yet had bedrooms. They were situated right next to each other. Halt's door was on the left and Will's on the right.

"Well, you should get unpacked. Go ahead and take a shower and meet us for dinner in an hour," Pepper finished.

Once she left, they went into their rooms and did as they were told. Since they were a bit unfamiliar with the showers, JARVIS told them how they worked. All in all, they were ready for dinner and seated five minutes early.

Everyone else except for Thor, Tony, and Pepper were already there. Clint and Natasha sat together with Bruce and Steve opposite them. Thankfully there were two empty chairs at one side of them. Will and Halt took these. The three remaining chairs sufficed to sit Tony, Pepper, and Thor when they arrived. Tony and Pepper sat together and Thor sat next to Steve and Tony.

Once everyone was seated, the doorbell rang. Steve stood up to get it. A minute later he came back with Chinese food. There was orange chicken, chow mein, rice (steamed and white), soy sauce, and fortune cookies.

After everyone served themselves, they all stood up and found something to drink. Noticeably, Will and Halt both got coffee. They also brought the coffee pot back with them, as if they were going to need it soon.

They really did. They were each on their second coffee while they only had half their food eaten. Thor had all his food eaten and was going for more. Everyone else was not done yet.

While they ate, they conversed.

"So," Bruce started, "What does a Ranger do?"

"Rangers," Halt answered, "Are basically the law keepers of Araluen."

Clint started to pay attention, "What kinds of weapons do you use?"

"We use the longbow, a saxe knife, a throwing knife, and some strikers. Our cloak is one of our biggest advantages because it helps us stay undetected," Will replied as he started to take out the aforementioned items to show them. "I've also seen Halt and Gilan use the sword," he mentioned.

Natasha reached out to inspect the knives while Clint inspected the bow. The others just looked on.

Natasha quickly mentioned that they were indeed great knives. She demonstrated by throwing them both at the bull's-eye in the room (they had one installed for Natasha and Clint for if they got angry and had to take out their anger). Both of them hit in the center.

Clint meanwhile asked for an arrow and fired. It was right on target, between the two knives.

Neither of them were practiced with strikers, so they asked if Will or Halt could demonstrate them later.

The next topic of conversation was why Halt had a slight accent. He told them he was originally from Hibernia.

Dinner was soon finished and they all went to bed.

**A/N Reviews for suggestions & critiques please. Unfortunately my beta will be busy for a while. If anyone would like to volunteer in the meantime, I'd appreciate it.**


	5. Chapter 5

*Smiles appreciatively at all reviewers, followers, and favoriters and answers all reviews made* Last of all, I'd like to say thank you to all my readers :)

This is the new and improved version of this chapter :)

Disclaimer: I don't own either Ranger's Apprentice or the Avengers.

Chapter Five… Breakfast

It was morning. It was seven in the morning and two people more than usual were awake at Stark Tower. The usual people up, Clint and Natasha (they are assassins, of course they wake up early) and Tony (he's working on his crazy inventions) were all off doing something. The unusual people up, Will and Halt, were in the kitchen.

Will was making breakfast for the two of them after having asked JARVIS for instructions on how to use the stove, coffee maker, fridge, and toaster. He was cooking scrambled eggs and toast.

Halt was sitting down at the table nursing a cup of coffee while doing some paperwork. Off to one side, another cup full of coffee was there for Will.

Halt glanced up, "It looks like our old friend Malcolm is doing well. It seems that some of the villagers are visiting him if they need a healer."

Will grinned: "He must be the best healer in all of Araluen. After all, he managed to cure you."

Clint strode in and interrupted their conversation. "Cured you of what?" he asked curiously of Halt. Much to his chagrin, neither of them seemed startled by his sudden appearance.

"Of poison," Halt muttered darkly.

Will started speaking in a serious tone, "Let me advise you. Never, and I mean never, shoot at the same person as someone else. It doesn't work too well."

Clint nodded at Halt, "I'm guessing that's how you managed to get poisoned?"

"Something like that," Halt responded grimly.

Sensing the reluctance of the two to talk about this, Clint changed the subject. "So… Will is it?" At Will's nod he continued hopefully, "Since no one in this entire tower can cook, would you mind making breakfast for the rest of us?"

Will sighed and answered, "Of course, but Halt knows how to cook also. He just doesn't like to as much as me."

With that, Will got out a lot more eggs and bread to cook with. After he set Halt's breakfast in front of him, and set his own in front of Clint, he started cooking for the other five Avengers plus himself.

Slowly they started to wander in. A few minutes after Clint entered, the Captain came in wearily rubbing his eyes. Soon after, Bruce followed him in, just having been woken up. Thor practically stormed in right after and greeted them all in his loud booming voice. And finally, Natasha came in dragging Tony who couldn't look like he cared less, all covered in grease stains and feebly attempting to pull away from Natasha so he could return to the lab.

Bruce sighed and looked at Tony once he was in the kitchen. "Did you even sleep Tony?" he asked exasperated.

"Nope" Tony answered flippantly before reaching for Will's coffee. Luckily for Will, Halt slapped Tony's hand away before he could grab it. "Fine, be that way," he grumbled before pouting and making his way over to the coffee machine.

While Tony was getting his coffee, Thor was loudly complaining about the lack of pop tarts in this Midgardian breakfast, while sucking down a cup of coffee. Thor eyed the empty cup.

"Another!" He boomed, and threw the cup to the ground. Luckily, Tony had long ago come to the conclusion that he needed indestructible coffee mugs.

"You forgot to say 'please'," Bruce muttered.

Thor looked at him with puppy dog eyes: "Please?"

Bruce got up and fetched Thor another cup of coffee.

Once everyone was settled at the table, they went over some ground rules. Tony started, "Whatever you do, don't get Brucie over here angry. The same goes for Natashalie, albeit for different reasons. Try not to attack Clint if you find him in the air vents. Be patient with Thor and Steve: Thor is from a different planet and Steve is from seventy years in the past. And last of all, do not go in either Bruce's or my labs without our permission."

"And don't touch my stuff," Clint added.

Once they finished eating, they all headed down to the gym to test the newbies (according to Tony) skills…

A/N Sorry for not updating earlier. I really should have. I got a bit distracted reading all these awesome Avengers fics. On the plus side, I saw IM3. I'll probably update within the next week or so. I'd also like to thank my beta, Dash99.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm a bit late for this update. Sorry :( I was on vacation. Anyways, I'd like to thank all my reviewers and viewers for reviewing and reading :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own either Ranger's Apprentice or the Avengers.**

Chapter Six… Those Two Aren't Newbies

Ever since they had gone down to the gym, it became apparent that Halt and Will weren't newbies. First of all, the ease with which the Rangers were holding their weapons alerted everyone to the fact that they weren't new to the job, even Will who seemed a bit on the young side. Also, they strode confidently in, as if they owned the place. Although they might not be familiar with the layout, they definitely were with the concept.

Rangers didn't have gyms. They practiced outside. They set up targets on trees and practice shooting randomly at them, to perfect their aim and skill. They also throw their knives and strikers at the targets. They practice hand-to-hand against each other. Even so, they know people who practice inside. King Duncan and his daughter Cassandra practice inside. Outside, there are too many chances for them to be assassinated. They themselves protest this measure constantly, but Horace wouldn't hear any of it… and so they were familiar with the idea, from the protests of their king and princess.

The Avenger's gym was massive. There were different training areas for each team member.

Iron man had a set of obstacles he could practice flying through and a bunch of moving targets to practice shooting at. He also had a set up that while he was in the gym, when JARVIS thought he wasn't paying attention, a dummy fell from the ceiling, and he had to try to catch it. After all, for some reason, there were a lot of falling citizens lately.

Captain America had a set of punching bags he could use, just like at SHIELD. However, over here, there were multiple hooks for the punching bags. That way, even when a bag broke, 'the good ole' Capsicle', according to Tony, could just continue with his training. The Captain also had an old fashioned obstacle set, so that he could practice giving chase to the bad guys. It was changed by JARVIS every time he completed it. He also sporadically ricochets his shield around on the punching bags trying out new combo attacks.

Thor didn't really need a training area; he did have thousands of years to perfect his strategy after all. Still, he insisted. Thor's domain had a lot of weights lying around. Apparently, Thor didn't want to be caught unawares of how heavy something might weigh. It is wise, Thor's concerns. He really doesn't want to drop a bus full of people by accident. Thor also uses metal poles to practice his lightning on. Tony really didn't want a scorched floor when he installed them. Thor moves back and forth, and flies around, trying to target the poles successfully. They can retract into the floor, and can move in all directions, as directed by JARVIS.

The Black Widow has a full set of acrobatic equipment. There are mats, monkey bars, tightropes, trampolines, and swinging ropes among other stuff. The Widow needs to remain agile. She also has a sparring ring for hand-to-hand combat. The last contraption there is a perpetual motion machine. It is built into the flooring and can retract back into the floor, or leave it completely as JARVIS chooses and can then fly around. Basically, it is multiple wooden balls with dull wooden spikes on them. The Widow has to kick them away from herself. It makes for great practice for knowing one's surrounding.

Hawkeye's place is just like Natasha's. However, the perpetual motion machine was replaced for metallic bull's-eyes. He also has rafters which he could climb onto.

Bruce himself had a room off to the side for which to 'go green' in. The Hulk could practice smashing in there.

The whole team also had a 'danger room' where they practiced together. It changes constantly, according to JARVIS' will (think something like the X-Men's danger room).

They all decided to go to the Hawk's training area.

Then the real shocker came for the Avengers. Once the order was settled for who would go first, Will walked to the firing range, strung his bow, nocked an arrow, and drew the arrow back. A quiet _twang _rang through the air as he shot a few seconds later. _Vrooooooooom_, the arrow went as it sliced through the air between it and its target. The arrow was a bolt of lightning, impossible to see until it struck into the target at high velocity with a dull _thud_… in the middle of the target, a perfect bull's-eye. The target was vibrating with a low _huuummmm_ for a full minute afterward with the force of the projectile.

A mixture of surprise and shock masked the features of the Avengers (it was a particularly funny expression on them, they looked like fish gasping for air)… this young boy was almost as good as Clint, if not at the same skill level. Of course he probably wouldn't be able to shoot Clint's heavy metal bow though… it would be just a tad bit weighty for him at a 250 pound draw weight… and he definitely didn't have Clint's specially designed arrows.

Halt on the other hand looked smug, as smug as one could look without actually cracking a smirk that is. He just raised one of his eyebrows in the equivalent of a smile.

Will was just trying to keep a stoic face to keep from laughing at the Avengers' expressions. Will failed. As he giggled uncontrollably, he pulled out his throwing knife and threw it towards a different target. It slammed into the center of another target with a little _clang_. Then, he drew his saxe knife out and released it towards a separate target. This target too, was attacked savagely by a knife, being hit dead center by it and crying out a small 'owww' in pain… in the form of a hushed _boing_.

By this time, Halt was ready to go. He quickly copied Will's stellar example in all accounts. Nothing missed the bull's-eye.

After the Avengers recovered from their shock, Will and Halt demonstrated the strikers to Natasha and Clint. Even though they had to get closer to the target, they both agreed that the strikers were useful. They made dents in the hard metal.

Once that demonstration was over, Clint and Natasha agreed to spar with them later, to test their hand-to-hand skills.

After that, they tested their stealth skills, of which the Rangers claimed was a specialty of theirs. They played hide and seek in the tower. Everyone present played. Bruce was it. He actually was the most reasonable choice for this task; looking for people was not exciting.

He only managed to find Steve, Tony, and Thor. Those three had no idea how to actually hide… Steve was still in the gym, not familiar with the game, Tony went down to his lab, and Thor sat watching the 'magical box' in the group living room while gulping down pop tarts and coffee.

Natasha, Clint, Will, and Halt remained hidden. Natasha was in her room, where Bruce dared not to trespass, Clint was in the air vents, Will was in the rafters, and Halt was in the Hawk's nest that he found in the rafters. The game ended three hours after Bruce found the first three… over all, it took four hours for him to decide to end the game. He had JARVIS tell everyone over the intercom that he gave up, a sure thing when one plays hide-and-seek with assassins.

Once all this was done, Tony decided to educate them on modern things… they were as clueless as Steve and Thor.

**A/N I'd like to thank my amazing beta Dash99. Also, once again, thanks for waiting everyone. Next chapter, the 'education of modern things' will be described, plus the sparring, maybe.**


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